This NFL Season Is Evidence That One Good Draft Can Completely Turn Around Your Team

Eight months ago, the Colts, Redskins, and Vikings had picks 1,
2, and 4 respectively in the NFL Draft.

Today, they're all in the playoffs.

If you're looking for evidence that teams can reinvent themselves
with one solid draft, this NFL season is it.

Let's run through the teams.

The Colts (2-14 last year). They got Andrew Luck
with the #1 pick, and he has been as good as advertised. But they
also made savvy late-round picks in T.Y. Hilton, who leads the
team in receiving TDs, and Vick Ballard, who leads the team in
rushing.

You can say their turnaround from 2-14 to 11-5 is all about Luck.
But we've seen stud QBs get drafted #1 overall (most recently,
Matt Stafford), and the team stayed just as bad. It has been
about more than Luck.

The Redskins (6-10 last year). Their draft was
all about two guys, Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris.
Washington took a huge gamble by trading three first-round picks
for the right to draft RG3. You only do that if your team is a
player or two away from being a contender, and it turned out that
the Redskins were.

They already had a solid defense and the makings of an offensive
line, they just needed an elite-level playmaker.

And they got two of them! Washington drafted Morris 173rd
overall, and he ended up running for the second-most yards in the
league, right behind Adrian Peterson.

The lesson: If you're a mediocre team with a lot of pieces but no
stars, it's worth it to bundle top picks and gamble on a big-time
player.

The Vikings (3-13). They had the best running
back in football last year, but no one to block for him. They
drafted Matt Kalil #4 overall, and he immediately became the
anchor of the team's offensive line.

They also got Harrison Smith, who has started all year for
Minnesota's vastly improved defense, and Blair Walsh, who might
be the best kicker in the NFL right now.

Again, this team was way closer to contention than most teams
picking at #3 overall (you're always close to contention if you
have Adrian Peterson). But still, they filled the right needs
instead of gambling on a skill position guy, and it paid off.

The Seahawks (7-9). They were okay last year,
but with one amazing draft that became a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner, and Jay Howard are all significant
contributors on defense, and turned that unit into one of the
best in the league.

They also struck gold with Russell Wilson. Undersized QBs are
always undervalued in the draft, and even though Seattle already
had a starting QB (they signed Matt Flynn in free agency), they
took a flyer on Wilson once he slipped to the third round.

Wilson has gone on to have as good a season as Luck and RG3, who
were taken ~70 spots before him.

All four of these teams will play a playoff game this weekend,
and all four of them did it through the draft.